Unics Kazan - BC Lokomotiv Kuban predictions and free betting tips [22/05/2024]

In the decisive Game 7 of the VTB United League semifinal series, Kazan's UNICS and Krasnodar's Lokomotiv-Kuban will face off.

Lokomotiv-Kuban

The "Railroaders" began the season poorly with just one win in their first five matches. However, after this setback, they unleashed a series of four consecutive victories: against Moscow's CSKA (88:91), Saratov's Avtodor (85:63), and Moscow's Runa (96:76). Additionally, in the Russian Cup, Krasnodar demolished Irkut (101:60). December started quite positively for the "Railroaders" with an essential victory over Kazan's UNICS (82:75). Nevertheless, their performance was overshadowed by a weak showing in Perm (73:67). In their next game, Loko secured a key win against MBA (66:80) and returned to the hunt for the top three. At the end of the calendar year, the Kuban team performed remarkably, snagging four more victories and catching up with St. Petersburg's Zenit in wins.

In the early matches of this year, Lokomotiv-Kuban defeated Astana (93:83), Avtodor (88:98), and CSKA (89:85). However, in the penultimate match, the "Railroaders" unexpectedly lost to Nizhny Novgorod (76:74). They managed to redeem themselves against Samara (91:76). During the top-6 stage, the Kuban team secured only four victories over Enisey (87:101), twice against Parma (89:85; 75:80), and once more against UNICS (90:82), losing the rest of the matches. By the end of the regular season, the "Railroaders" entered the playoffs in 4th place. In the quarterfinal series, Krasnodar crushed Parma, winning three matches with a cumulative point difference of -92. In the semifinal series, which was a rematch of last year's final, the "Railroaders" won once on the road (71:84) and twice at home (89:83; 98:86), while losing once both away and at home (78:75; 68:85). 

UNICS

UNICS started the regular season with a confident win over last season’s finalist Lokomotiv-Kuban (91:73). They also easily defeated Minsk (49:97) and Yekaterinburg's Uralmash. However, their winning streak was halted by today’s opponents, the Kazan team (104:93). They quickly got back on track with away wins against Avtodor (72:82) and Zenit (83:93). Yet, their streak was briefly cut short by tournament newcomers, Moscow's Runa. They partially redeemed themselves with wins against Parma on the road (77:87) and Enisey at home (91:80). In subsequent matches, UNICS secured two victories over Nizhny Novgorod's PARI-NN (91:61; 61:70), as well as wins against Astana (75:97), Uralmash (80:89), Minsk (101:81), and Samara (81:61), propelling themselves back into the top three. In the first match of this calendar year, Kazan narrowly defeated Moscow's Runa (78:84), then lost away to Enisey (94:80) and Parma (70:72).

However, a win against Zenit (64:61) sparked a run of nine wins in 12 matches, including five during the top-6 stage. Despite a disappointing finish to the top-6 stage with three consecutive losses, Kazan retained first place in the table, entering the playoffs with the highest seed. In the quarterfinal series, UNICS defeated Samara in three matches (83:73; 77:64; 67:90). After winning the first semifinal game (78:75), Kazan then suffered two losses. However, in the fourth match, Velimir Perasovic's team managed to regain their home-court advantage. The teams then exchanged home victories, leading to one final decisive game for their fans. 

Head-to-Head

In the recent head-to-head matchups during the top-6 stage, the teams split victories (80:76; 90:82). In the quarterfinals, each team secured three wins.

Match Prediction

Lokomotiv-Kuban boasts one of the best attacking systems in the league. Despite the "rollercoaster" performances by both teams in this series, the visitors should confidently surpass their individual total over.